"PIRATE" TAXIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 78, 2 April 1932, Page 7

"PIRATE" TAXIS.

FLEET IN AUCKLAND. INFUSION IN COLOUR SCHEME PASSENGERS IN A MAZE. . With skilfully designed colour schemes , vhich can easily be confused with the , .= of legitimate companies, a fleet °f between 50 and 00 "pirate" taxis is °Latin" in Auckland. Their fares are more than double those of cabs emteVed hy the established companies. Members of the public have frequently mnlained to the companies that the.V i overcharged, but with each cornTint it had been pointed out that the 1 • nf the car concerned had no conation with the company, although perthe cab was very much similar to hose belonging to the company. Different types of these road "pirates" work in" in and around Auckland. "!® t of them have their cars painted milarlv to those of the three leading Xianies. In some cases the "pirates S painted exactly the same as the !bs of the legitimate companies. The markings are the same and there are nvo or three cabs with even the name of a company painted on their doors, the only difference being that a thin line has been painted through the company name. The 'phone number lias been left untouched.

"The men who painted some of these 'pirates' deserve credit for producing a clever optical illusion," said the manager „f a leading company tliis morning. "There is no doubt that some of the ,olour schemes are skilfully done, but these tactics are most, unfair. Passengers are often in a maze. There is only one way for the public to safe"Utird themselves, and that is to make a point of asking before they step into the car. This camouflage is not fair to the public, and is a menace to the legitimate taxi business."

One instance of pirating was related bv a driver this morning. Two girls uiio had been attending a dance in thi city walked out of the liall and asked a legitimate driver how much he would charge to take them to Mount Albert terminus. "Three shillings," he said. The girls went away. They could hire a cheaper cab. ' Here comes one now,' 1 said one of the girls, who hailed a passing car which was disguised as >i cab of a new company. The girls did not stop to ask the price, and were driven to Mount Albert terminus. They were charged 7/(3.

A common practice of "pirate" drivers when asked what they charge, is to say "Meter fares," which sounds reasonable enough to the person who wants a taxi. But the maximum meter fares laid down by the Auckland City Council (under whose authority the taxis come), are 2/0 for the first mile and 1/0 for every additional mile. And those are the rates charged by the "pirate" cabs.